Sports

With heavy hearts, St. Anthony’s tops St. Peter’s Prep for ‘Mrs. D’

St. Anthony's players celebrate a goal.

St. Anthony’s players celebrate a goal. (Denis Gostev)

St. Anthony's James Mazza takes a shot on goal.

St. Anthony’s James Mazza takes a shot on goal. (Denis Gostev)

After each of St. Anthony’s five goals, the scorer gazed skyward. A few blew kisses. Others scooped up some ice and lightly tossed it in the air as they looked up to the ceiling.

It was meant to acknowledge Marie Drisco, the program’s beloved longtime general manager who lost her decade-long battle with cancer Tuesday morning.

“She was our heart and soul,” St. Anthony’s senior captain James Mazza said after the undefeated Friars’ gritty 5-3 win over New Jersey power St. Peter’s Prep at the Prudential Center in Newark in non-league hockey.

When the sad news was relayed to St. Anthony’s coach Jeff Stelmok, he was unsure about going ahead with the scheduled showcase. But after talking to the program’s many coaches, they agreed Drisco, who was with the team for more than 20 years, would’ve wanted them to play in her memory.

“They wore their hearts on their sleeves,” Stelmok said of the two-time CHSHL Class A champions. “We won this game for Mrs. ‘D.’”

Mazza, the star defenseman, described her as a tough motherly figure who was there for her “boys” whenever needed.

“She would push people to be the best,” Mazza said. “She would kick you in the butt – she would actually kick you in the butt.”

Drisco made sure the program, which has five teams – a varsity and junior varsity in the CHSHL, varsity and junior varsity in the Suffolk County High School League, which are classified as club teams, and an independent team – ran smoothly. She made sure every player interested in hockey had a place to play, creating the new teams over the years and was the driving force in St. Anthony’s joining the CHSHL three years ago.

“She did everything imaginable,” Stelmok said. “Everybody had a good relationship with Marie. She was always at practice. She came to all the games that she could. … The only reason why she couldn’t [come to more games] was because she was getting her butt kicked by chemo or she was in the hospital fighting it.”

Drisco was prepared to step down after her son graduated from St. Anthony’s in the early 1990s, as rules then stipulated, but remained in the position when parents voted to change said rules.

St. Anthony’s played for Drisco on Wednesday, picking up a quality win over a top opponent. After a slow start, the Friars raced out to a 2-0 lead, on goals from Joseph Loiacano and Nick Nici 51 seconds apart in the first period. After St. Peter’s got even, the Long Island powerhouse surged ahead, extending to a 4-2 lead midway through the second period. Mike Marnell scored on a wraparound and Brett D’lorio banked in a goal off St. Peter’s goaltender Tyler Kovach. The Marauders got within 4-3, but Chris Wallace iced it 10:11 into the final period.

“One thing I thought about on my way to the rink was to leave everything out there and play for her,” said Wallace, who had two goals and an assist. “She pushed us to be better. To come out on top meant a lot to us and to her.”

Unlike its league contests, which have been lopsided so far, St. Anthony’s was tested on Wednesday – mentally and physically – and responded as Stelmok hoped.

“It’s huge,” the coach said. “For us to go on the road and play a quality team we’ve never seen before and have to make adjustments on the fly, in an arena like this, it’s cool for our kids. But for us to play at a high level, it’s a win for us in a lot of different aspects.”

The win also kept St. Anthony’s hope of a perfect season alive, a preseason goal. From the start, Wallace said he felt this was a special group, one capable of winning a state championship, a goal the last two teams have fallen just short of. The win, with heavy hearts, only emboldened those thoughts.

Along with the general manager they feel is still with them.

“Every time we step on the ice,” Wallace said, “she’ll be with us.”

zbraziller@nypost.com